Over Rwf 80 Million Granted to Dutch Firm to intensify horticulture in Bugesera

The USAID Rwanda through its Private Sector Driven Agricultural Growth (PSDAG) project has got into partnership with Holland Greentech, a Dutch horticulture supplier operating in Rwanda, to support SUNRIPE Farms Ltd which is an agricultural farm growing naturally produced crops in Bugesera district.

SUNRIPE Farms Ltd aims to provide a high quality product to the local market and to give the market specialty gourmet vegetables and herbs that are often not available locally.

At the official launch of the partnership which took place on Wednesday, 25th July 2018, Fina Kayisanabo the USAID representative said “Partnership with Holland Greentech aims to increase smallholder incomes by promoting private sector investments and connecting smallholders to markets in order to transform the Rwandan agricultural sector”

According to officials Holland Greentech has received a 89 Million RWF grant from USAID to increase the supply of improved inputs for smallholder farmers by scaling up its vegetable demonstrations and by organizing 80 Farmer Field Days (FFD) at 40 demonstration sites targeted at farmers producing for high value markets.

Explicitly, the Holland Greentech which gets into partnership with the USAID, is the main supplier of agricultural technologies which is being utilized at a six hectares farm owned by SUNRIPE Farms Ltd located in Kayumba cell of Nyamata Sector in Bugesera District, part of the Eastern province of Rwanda.

According to Kwizera Stephen, Assistant Farm Manager & Veterinary at Sunripe Farm, the farm grows a variety of crops which include beans, vegetables, Egg Plant, Tomatoes, Dry Green Beans, French Green Beans, Green Pepper, Sweet Pepper, Oyster Mushroom, Habonero Chili, Swiss chard, Leeks, Beetroot, Broccoli, Red Cabbage, Parsley, Chinese cabbage and many others.

However, Kwizera adds that “The farm also is a farmer Field School which is helping the nearby community to learn best practice in modern agriculture.”

“So this partnership will help us to increase our products and taking them to an other level.”

Speaking to Topafricanews.com, Jacques Tuyishime, the Managing Director of Holland Greentech said that “By working with Sunripe and USAID in general, what we want is first to grow in a commercial way.”

He added that “at the end we approach Farmers and encourage them to come and get training, while at the same time helping them to calculate the income which can come from the investment they put in the farming.”

Tuyishime explains that normally Holland Greentech support is to provide technical support for high-quality horticulture with the state-of-art technology and expertise on cultivation and handling of vegetables.

“But all we do relate to the market.

“Farmers are asking: we are producing products but we don’t have market, so we prefer first to see where they can sell the harvest and how is the price…

“After all we connect them to the buyers.

“Again as Holland Greentech we want also to sell our products. So we ask them also to come and be trained at the farm, and when they are trained they can take to their farms, buy inputs from us like improved seeds and irrigation materials for those who can afford it,” Tuyishime explains.

In reference to the latter, are small farmers able to buy these agricultural materials? Or they learn what they will never practice? The question remains unanswered!

Improving agriculture and Youth involvement

The Rwandan Government has set a goal to increase the share of arable land under sustainable management practices.

The move also intends to increase irrigated space around the country.

However the main problem hindering the program includes the limited capacity for farmers to afford new irrigation technologies.

For small Farmers, since the arrival of this Irrigation system in Bugesera, many have realized that the benefits are too much but the main constraints is that they can’t replicate the system in their farms.

Nyirazigama Lenatha, is one of small farmer employed in SUNRIPE Farm who get paid Rwf 1,500 on daily basis.

She says “I work here at SUNRIPE Firm.

“We are benefiting a lot from the work we do here. We are able to get money to respond to some of family problems like being able to buy soap, Sugar and other items,”

For Nyirazigama, working here is considered as a school of Farming school that each must emulate the practice. But, For Nyirazigame the wish is “If I can too, I will have to replicate this system to my field.”

Really, the work of SUNRIPE Firm and Holland Greentech is giving positive profits, according to officials.

The Firm employs between 40 to 60 casual workers and the target is to increase the number to at least 100 people from the surrounding communities.

The Firm’s harvest stands at 1.5 tons of Horticulture products per week.

The Government of Rwanda affirms that it is well positioned to serve growing local, regional and global market demand for horticulture products.

With the entry of new investors like Holland Greentech and SUNRIPE Firms Ltd, a growing number of Rwanda’s products are reaching a growing number of national and international markets.

However, according to Epimaque Nsanzabaganwa, the Horticulture Division manager at the National Agricultural Development Board (NAEB), “Though the market is growing we have not yet reached the quantity of horticulture harvests that we want,

“The market is open and we are encouraging more people to join the sector,” He says.

The recent Agriculture policy puts more emphasis on Youth’s involvement in Agriculture.

One of the big initiative that are yielding positive impacts is the Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) which is a platform orienting youth to change mindset and engaging in agribusiness.

The same practice is being endorsed by Holland Greentech and SUNRIPE firm in their daily activities.

According to Nsanzabaganwa, the youth especially young graduates are encouraged to put the skills they got in University into practice by becoming source of the society change shifting from traditional farming to Modern Farming.

Matabaro Selemani Amin is a young graduate agronomist doing Internship at Holland Greentech-SUNRIPE project in Bugesera.

He said “the training I got here will help me to acquire hands on skills in Agriculture and how to irrigate while at the same time increasing products and learning new skills in the management of lands and crops.”

In the meantime, Holland Greentech services are not based in Bugesera only.

The company has at least 40 stations around the country.

This website will continue to report on such practices to share success stories with the same vision of improving the Agriculture sector for the socio-economic development of the country and well-being of the citizens.